Pet owners often travel with their pets. For example, a pet owner having their pet with them may stop off at the grocery. However, the pet must be left in the vehicle until the owner returns. In other instances, pet owners take their pets with them on road trips. However, during the road trips the pet owner may stop at a restaurant. Again, the pet must be left in the vehicle until the owner returns.
During the summer months the temperature rises to 90 plus degrees and in some instances over 100 degrees. Therefore, a pet left in the vehicle is exposed to extreme heat. In order to provide the pet with a breeze or fresh air while the pet owner is away from the vehicle, the owner, on occasion, has cracked the windows of the vehicle. As can be appreciated, the crack must be sufficiently small to prevent the pet from jumping out of the cracked window and to prevent theft of the vehicle. As a result, the cracked window typically does not provide a sufficient stream of air to cool the pet.
Several devices have been patented which are aimed at portable cooled containers or cooled comfort devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,694, by Marrow et al., entitled "MOBILE COOLER" discloses a container cooled by air from a vehicle's air-conditioning system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,555, by Chruniak, entitled "PORTABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE STORAGE UNIT MOUNTED ADJACENT AN AIR VENTILATOR" discloses a portable storage unit for food or drink which is mounted over an air ventilator of an air-conditioner unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,604, by Seff, entitled "AIR CONDITIONED PILLOW" discloses a pillow having an inlet for cool air connected to a portable air-conditioning unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,432, by Mitchell, entitled "AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE FOR BEDS" discloses a bed having attached thereto a cooling unit.
It can be readily seen that there exists the continuing need for a portable cooled pet carrier comprising a portable housing cooled by a portable cooling system using a Peltier module having a Peltier effect wherein the portable cooling system comprises a slidable lid member which serves to re-circulate cooled air from the interior of the portable housing to the Peltier module when in a first position and serves to allow stale air to vent from the interior of the portable housing and be replenished with fresh air.